


Skutch

by AnxiousPeaches



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Best Friends, Drabble, Friendship, M/M, Maybe I'll do another chapter for this, kofi reward, possibly change to lovers?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 10:29:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17579165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiousPeaches/pseuds/AnxiousPeaches
Summary: Ace Visconti makes up his mind to find out more about Bill Overbeck, the grumpy old man of the camp that's obviously got some secrets. Little did Ace realize, they actually could become a great team.This was written as a reward for my top supporter of the month.





	Skutch

There came a breaking point for everyone. For some, it was after hundreds of trials. For others, just ten. I never considered the ones that broke down weak. They were plucked from their normal lives and placed into a nightmare of agony and constant death. I still remembered the moment that horrible reality came crashing down on me. 

One man, though, hadn’t reached that point. We didn’t know much about Bill Overbeck, other than he liked to smoke. He kept quiet about his life. Kept quiet about everything happening to him, really. The others were content with letting him sit in peace by the fire, waiting for the next trial. I, of course, was not. 

It became a game for me. Little by little I’d annoy him with my presence, getting bits of information from him. He was a war veteran and let that define his entire life. It didn’t escape my notice that he seemed more than willing to take on a fight. Often he muttered how useful a gun would be in the trials. He also had more enemies than friends and liked it that way. When he told me that, he pointedly looked at me, an expression that clearly told me to fuck off. 

That only made the situation more enticing.  _ Play your cards right and you’ll get yourself a good friend. Fail, and you’ll make an enemy. Either way, things are going to get a whole lot more interesting.  _

It had been a couple month s since he arrived when a particularly bad set of trials broke everyone’s spirits. The man with traps had been on Laurie’s tail all game, seemingly obsessed with catching her. David tried to be a hero but failed to do anything other than get themselves both caught. Bill soon followed their example leaving me to finish two generators and get the hatch. By some stroke of luck, I did it, feeling like a damn king when I emerged from the fog onto the campsite.

“Ya such ah’ cunt. Should ‘ave left ya to die.” David snapped at Laurie, breaking me from my cloud of confidence. The others did not reflect the enthusiasm I felt.

She cringed at the foul language, still holding onto the social code of her time. The young woman looked 16, but she’d been like that for decades. She managed to hold her own in the argument. “The only way we get out of these things is if everyone does generators. You just waste precious time chasing after the killer.”

“G-guys?” A tired voice tried to interrupt. “Please stop.” Even the newcomer, Quentin, had been pulled into the shouting match despite the fact he wasn’t even in that trial. I still didn’t know much about him. He kept tighter lips about his life than Bill did. 

“Ay, don’t ya dare start on this. Shouldn’t ya be sleepin’? It’s the only useful thing ya could do right now anyway,” David said with a huff. His voice was softer when he spoke to Quentin, but that didn’t lessen the sting of his words. Quentin opened his mouth to argue with him but stopped.  _ What could he say? David’s not wrong. _

Then my eyes flickered to Bill. He leaned against a tree, his arms crossed and a cigarette in his mouth. The others didn’t notice the way he watched them, some internal judgments being made within only a few minutes.  _ I wonder how much prying it would take to get his thoughts on all this.  _

I didn’t ask to sit down next to him, because I knew he’d just give me one of those grunts and ignore the question. Instead, I plopped down loudly beside him, stretching my arms out just to get a little bit more in his space. “I owe you my life, you know. If you hadn’t distracted that guy, I would have never gotten the gens I needed done for the hatch,” I said, looking over at him. He kept his eyes glued on the group, watching as David got dangerously angry enough to start throwing punches. “I don’t like having debts so let’s figure out how I can pay you back, hm?” 

“You look like the kind of sleaze that’s ass deep in debt,” he snorted, still not bothering to look at me. He might have meant it to be insulting but the analysis was spot on.  _ He’s not totally wrong. I’ve had to go ass deep to pay off debt. A lot more enjoyable than the other ways people have tried to get their money back.  _ I stored away those pleasant, and not so pleasant, memories for later. 

“Regardless of that, what do I owe you? I’ll do whatever you like,” I said, smirking at all the possibilities. After all, sometimes the best way to get under someone’s skin is through sex. It’d been a while since I’d gotten an older man before. He looked strong enough to give me a good ride and if not, I was more than willing to spoil him in other ways. 

Fantasies, however, never came close to reality. “I’d like you to sit over there,” he said, pointing to the opposite end of the campfire.  _ Spoilsport.  _

That would be too easy for him. “What, and get punched in the face? No thanks, I’ll stay away from the fighting.” 

“I would say a good ass kicking could teach you a lesson, but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” He put out the cigarette, but the conversation was far from over. 

He hit a nerve. “I’m not old,” I said, trying not to seem annoyed. 

“You’re probably older than my sorry ass,” he argued. “Bet you were born the in the 20s.” 

The last thing I ever wanted was to be called old by someone who looked like they could be a grandpa. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m only forty.”

He finally glanced at me, only to start laughing so loudly the others looked at him. It continued on like this, him trying to talk but laughing too much and my cheeks turning redder each second. “Forty?” He said, wiping away tears. 

“I’m forty until proven otherwise,” I snapped, crossing my arms.  _ Should have just let David punch me. See if I save this old asshole off the hook next time. He’ll be sorry. _

Yet, trials came and went without me ever claiming my revenge. I gave him the brightest treasures I found in chests and he saved my ass when my luck ran out. While the others struggled to hold back from ripping out each other’s throats, we became what many joked as the “power couple” of the camp. Watching Bill get flustered over the term only made it more popular, much to my enjoyment. 

Maybe that’s why, when we went against the huntress one misty day, we were so cocky. We were on our longest living streak – 12 escapes – and we had no plans to stop. The rain dampened the moods of the others as well as my clothes. Still, my spirit was flying high as soon as I spotted him exiting the lodge in the middle of the forest. I dropped a shiny flashlight at his feet before we started working on a gen wedged up against a tree.

“We’re doin’ pretty goddamn good,” he said as we sped our way through the repairs. The hum of the Huntress came from somewhere among the trees, but I didn’t dare stop until the generator was done. As ours popped, so did the one upstairs in the lodge.

“Pretty good indeed,” I said, placing my hands on my hips. The peaceful mist lulled me into a sense of security which was quickly cut by a hatchet sailing through the air. Bill cursed as he hit the ground, but I didn’t have the reflexes of the veteran. A glass blade lodge into my shoulder, sharper than ever before. Heat radiated from the glass. Whispers echoed from its sharp edges. I fell over with a grunt, seething from the pain. 

The muffled footsteps of her approach did not set me at ease nor did the lullaby she hummed as she tilted her head while looking down at me. Blood rolled down my back, soaking the shirt so that I shivered from the cold air. She yanked the hatched from my shoulder, eliciting a sharp yelp from me. The burly woman then pulled me off the ground and hoisted me over her shoulder. I struggled against her grasp, but my arms felt like gelatin. Each movement was sluggish and I began to doubt it was the blood loss.  _ I’ve been drugged.  _

She threw me on a hook, smacking me several times afterward for good measure.  _ I think she remembers the last time Bill and I went against her.  _ The consequences of previous trials were catching up to us. All the taunting had only fueled her rage. 

“For all the blinding we did, you’re eyesight sure works fine sweetheart,” I sputtered, ignoring the blood building up in my throat. That was just temporary, a lovely effect of being beaten to death in trials. The gates would get powered and I’d escape and then everything wrong with my body would go back to normal. I squinted, focusing on that thought. 

She hummed her tune as she went back to the hunt. I didn’t have the patience to stay there any longer than I had too. I lifted my arms up to pull myself off. I winced. Each movement on the hook felt like I was getting stabbed all over again. 

“Don’t be goin’ and gettin’ ya-self killed ‘cause ya in a rush,” I heard Bill’s voice cut through the fog. I felt his hands grab me under the arms and pull me off just as another person went down across the forest. For a brief second, that felt worse than even being put on the hook. Calloused fingers pressed bandages to the deep wound. A whoop sounded through the air as a hatchet landed beside us. “Shit,” he cursed. “Run.” 

I jolted forward, barely aware of the lullaby that grew closer. Mud splattered against my pants as I tried to get away. My lungs burned after only a few seconds. The strange concoction that coated her hatchets made my legs move so much slower than I wanted. The lack of control I had over my own self made me panic. 

A sudden smack in my back sent me flying to the right. The pain of that hit, however, didn’t register until a few seconds later. The hum stopped momentarily as if she too was confused about how I had the ability to keep running. I vaulted over the window of the building and scurried to the second floor. Whatever energy that had been given to me before was depleting – fast. I knew I couldn’t stay on my feet much longer. The thud of her steps coming up the stairs pushed me to hide in the most obvious place I could find: a locker. 

I watched her through the slits pass by, not noticing the trail of blood that led up to my spot.  _ Why did we call her the Huntress? She’s terrible at hunting.  _ I slid back against the wall of the locker, my breath growing ragged each second. What little room there was in there was also the only thing keeping me on my feet. The second I opened that door, I knew I’d collapse.  _ Perhaps that winning streak should come to an end. Bleeding to death in here isn’t the worst way I’ve gone. _

A shadow passed over the locker doors. The hum, however, was absent. I stared dumbly at the darkness, unsure if I should be afraid. The doors opened and I toppled into the expectant arms of my friend. “Bill,” I gasped, more happy to smell that cigarette smoke than ever before. 

“I ain’t goin’ to lie, ya don’t look too good,” he said with a gruff voice, putting his arm around me. “Come on, I got ya a door open.”

“We got the gens done?” All I heard was that haunting hum while she chased me. The fervent uptick of her voice could drown out anything.

“We?” He scoffed. “Ya mean me and David. I didn’t see ya do shit.” 

“Hey, wait a minute—” I tried to argue, but stopped as I felt his hand squeeze me just a little tighter. For once, I did what he wanted and shut my mouth. Not that I really had the energy to talk anyway. 

He didn’t let go of me until we reached the fire, and after that he didn’t stop fussing over me for at least an hour. Every wound had to be patched, even though it would easily heal in just a short time. The wet, bloodied shirt was replaced by one of his own while he promised to take care of the old one. At the end of all, he sat back, watching me trying to recover from the whole experience. I laid down beside him, glad to be back by the safety of the fire. 

“Lucky escape number thirteen is off the list,” I said, smirking. 

“I suppose it is,” he said. “We cut it close this time. Gotta be more careful.” His hand tussled my hair, a reminder that it wasn’t really  _ us _ that had to be careful. It was me. I was the one pissing off killers. He simply acted as a guard. 

“Why do you take care of me so much?” I asked, feeling more aware than ever of how just much I got on his nerves. “After all, you’re the one that calls me a bastard all the time. Why do we work so well together?” 

He took a few moments to answer, so long I thought perhaps he was just going to ignore it. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “I’ve had a lot of weird shit happen to me in my life. This place is just another chapter of the unusual. I gotta say though, ya make dealin’ with all this easier. Ya brighten it up, I guess is what I’m tryin’ to say.” His face turned red at that and he looked away. 

I smiled, leaning my head against his shoulder. “You make it brighter for me too, old man.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a reward for my top supporter of the month! Every month, whoever is the top supporter gets a free 2k drabble about the DBD ship or character of their choice.


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